How to remove or decrypt a 7-zip password when I forgot

The open-source command-line password recovery program John the Ripper works with the auxiliary 7z2john script to supply a complete hash extraction and cracking workflow that teaches you how to decrypt a 7-Zip password offline.

How to Decrypt a 7-Zip Password

Step 1: Visit the official website to download the software package, and fully extract all local files.

Step 2: Navigate to the run subfolder of the extracted program, type cmd in the folder address bar, and press Enter to launch the Command Prompt in this directory.

Step 3: Execute the conversion command to export the password hash of the encrypted 7z file and save the data to a text file:

zip2john.exe yourfile.7z > hash.txt

Step 4: Run the John the Ripper main program to start the password cracking task:

john.exe hash.txt

Finally, once a matching password is successfully found, enter the following command to reprint the plaintext password for viewing:

john.exe --show hash.txt

Software has limited compatibility with 7z encryption. You must use a separate utility to resolve issues with failed hash value reads and to reliably crack the archive password.

Disadvantages

• Pure command-line operation with no graphical interface; basic knowledge of CMD syntax is required to crack the password.
• Decryption speed drops dramatically when handling long and complex 7z passwords consisting of mixed characters.
• The entire workflow requires commands to be executed in strict sequence; any errors in the steps will result in the failure to generate a usable hash file.